India’s former white-ball captain Virat Kohli. Picture: Aamir QURESHI, AFP
NEW DELHI – Virat Kohli said on Wednesday that he was told only 90 minutes before the official announcement that he had been sacked as India's one-day captain.
Kohli quit as T20 skipper after the recent World Cup and last week was removed as ODI captain, with India’s cricket board saying it wanted Rohit Sharma to lead in both white-ball formats.
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The surprise announcement came in one line at the bottom of a press release by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the Test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
💬 💬 @ImRo45 and Rahul Dravid have my absolute support: @imVkohli #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/jXUwZ5W1Dz
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 15, 2021
“I was contacted one and a half hours before the selection meeting on the 8th for the Test series and there was no prior communication to me at all,” Kohli told reporters Wednesday ahead of the team’s departure for South Africa, where they will play three Tests and three ODIs.
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“Before ending the call I was told that the five selectors had decided that I would not be the ODI captain, to which I replied, ‘ok fine’,” the 33-year-old said.
Kohli will still captain India in the Tests in South Africa but press reports suggested that he had decided to skip the subsequent ODI series in a huff.
But Kohli denied this, telling reporters Wednesday that he “was and am available for selection” and hitting out at sections of the media for “writing lies”.
“I was always keen to play,” he said.
AFP